Share a home and devices in the Google Home app

Important: If you use the Nest app, and haven’t migrated to a Google Account, you manage homes and people who share access to your home with the Nest app.

To organize and manage your devices in the Google Home app, you can create a home. Then you can invite home members, who will share control of the home and its devices.

For example, you could put your grouped living room speakers, your office lights, and your thermostat into a home, and invite your family to be members of that home.

Create and manage a home

  1. Open the Google Home app Google Home.
  2. At the top, tap Add Add.
  3. Tap Create new home.
  4. Follow the steps.

Switch between homes

  1. Open the Google Home app Google Home.
  2. At the top, tap the name of the current home.
  3. Select a new home from the drop down. If the drop down button doesn’t appear, you only have one home in the Home app.

​​​​​​Note: Not all devices can be moved to a different home this way. Speakers and displays, and Chromecast can be moved, excluding Nest Wifi point and Nest Hub Max. Some Nest and Wifi devices can’t be moved to a different home. You’ll need to factory reset your device and set it up again in a new home.

  1. Open the Google Home app Google Home.
  2. Open the home the device is in.
  3. Tap the device and then Settings Settings and then Device information and then Home.
  4. Tap the home you want to move the device to and then Next and then Move device.
  5. If asked, tap the room you want to move the device to and then Next.

Delete a home

You can delete a home from the Home app if you’re the only home member.

If you aren’t the only member of a home, you’ll first need to remove all other members from the home by using the Google Home app. Otherwise, you’ll only be able to remove yourself from the home, and the remaining home members will still have access to the home and its devices.

When you delete a home:

  • The home is removed from your Google Account.
  • You won’t be able to use the Home app to control devices you added to this home, including lights, displays, speakers, cameras, thermostats, and locks, unless you set those devices up again in a new home.
  • Data associated with the home, such as video history from Nest cameras you might own or thermostat settings, is deleted. Note: Data associated with your Google Account is not deleted if you delete your home. Learn how to remove data associated with your account.

To delete a home:

  1. Open the Google Home app Google Home app.
  2. Switch to the home you want to delete.
  3. Tap Settings   Delete this home  Delete.

Manage home members

To let other people, like family members or roommates, use the devices in your home, add them as home members.

Only invite people you trust to become home members. When someone becomes a member of a home, the following info and settings will be shared with them:

Full access and control of devices and services

  • Add and remove other home members, including you
  • Add new devices, like speakers, displays, or smart light bulbs
  • Use and change the settings of the devices in the home
  • Automatically link their media services, like YouTube, to speakers, smart displays and Chromecast built-in devices in the home

Home activity

  • View activities and events from all devices and services linked to the home

Contact information and home address

  • Change the address of the home
  • View the names and email addresses of everyone in the home

Assistant features

  • Set up Personal Results, Voice Match and Face Match on existing and new Assistant-supported devices

You can’t invite anyone using a:

  • G Suite account
  • Google Account for children under 13 (or the applicable age in your country)

A maximum of 6 people can share a home.

Invite members to a home

  1. Open the Google Home app Google Home.
  2. Switch to the home you want to share.
  3. At the top, tap Add Add and then Invite home member or Add person to home and then Invite person Add.
  4. Enter the name or email address of the person you want to invite to your home and then tap Next.
  5. You’ll find information about what’s shared when you add someone to your home. Tap Next to continue.
  6. Review the person’s access to your home and then tap Send.
  7. If the person you’re inviting is not already in your family group, you’ll be asked if you’d like to add them. Tap Add to Family to invite them to your family group or No Thanks to skip this step. Note: You can have a maximum of 6 members in a family group. If you already have a full family group, this option won’t appear.

The person you invite will receive an email with instructions.

Note: If the person you want to invite already requested to join your home, you’ll need to accept that request instead of sending a new invitation.

Accept someone’s request to join your home

When someone sends a request to join your home, you’ll receive an email with the invite request and a notification on your mobile device.

  1. Follow the link in the email you received or tap the notification on your mobile device.
  2. Tap Continue to invite a person to join your home or Decline to reject their request.
  3. You’ll find information about what’s shared when you add someone to your home. Tap Next to continue.
  4. Review the person’s access to your home and then tap Send.
  5. If the person you’re inviting is not already in your family group, you’ll be asked if you’d like to add them. Tap Add to Family to invite them to your family group or No Thanks to skip this step. Note: You can have a maximum of 6 members in a family group. If you already have a full family group, this option won’t appear.

Accept a home member invitation

  1. Open the Google Home app Google Home.
  2. On the home screen, tap on your pending invitation.
  3. Follow the in-app instructions to join someone’s home. Tap Next to accept, or Decline to reject the invite.
  4. You’ll find information about what’s shared when you join a home. Tap Agree to continue.
  5. Create a nickname for the home. This nickname will only appear to you.
  6. The next time you connect to the home’s Wi-Fi, open the Home app to finish Assistant setup and be added to the devices connected to the same Wi-Fi.

To let the Google Assistant read or show results specific to you, you can choose to set up Voice Match and Face Match, and choose to turn on personal results.

Remove yourself from a home

When you remove yourself from a home:

  • You’ll no longer have access to the home and the devices and services associated with that home.
  • Other members will continue to have access to the home.
  • Other members will no longer have access to the devices or services you set up, including Nest thermostats, alarms, locks, or cameras. If you’ve set up a Nest Cam with your Nest Hub Max, the Nest Hub Max will also no longer be available.
    • Exceptions: Google Nest Wifi, Google Wifi, Assistant-enabled speakers and displays, and Chromecast devices will still be available to other home members even if you remove yourself from the home.
  • You’ll no longer have access to Nest Aware features, including video history.
  • Other members will continue to have access to Nest Aware features.
  • Your Google TV account won’t be removed from this home. You will have to sign out of this account on this home’s Google TVs or in account.google.com.
  • If you’re the only member of the home, the home will be deleted. This includes home data such as video history footage and thermostat settings.

To remove yourself:

  1. Open the Google Home app Google Home app.
  2. Switch to the home you want to edit.
  3. Tap Settings   Household.
  4. Tap your account.
  5. At the top right, tap  to remove yourself from a home.

Remove other members from a home

When you remove members from a home:

  • They will be notified that they were removed from the home.
  • They will no longer have access to the devices or services in the home and their account will no longer be linked to the devices.
  • Assistant devices such as speakers and displays, including those set up by the removed member, will remain in your home. These devices will no longer be linked to the home member you remove.
    • Exception: Nest Hub Max might get removed and video history footage could be deleted.
  • They will no longer have access to Nest Aware features, including video history.
  • Their Google TV account won’t be removed from this home. They will have to sign out of this account on this home’s Google TVs or in account.google.com.
  • If the member you remove from the home migrated their Nest Account and Nest devices (such as cameras and thermostats) to a Google Account, removing them may remove those devices from the home. Data associated with their Nest devices and the home may be permanently deleted, including video history footage and thermostat settings.
  1. Open the Google Home app Google Home app.
  2. Switch to the home you want to edit.
  3. Tap Settings   Household.
  4. Tap the home member you want to remove.
  5. At the top right, tap Remove .